About SFIC Institute
Since 2010, we have been building the careers that build Singapore’s furniture and design industries. Training, certifying, and supporting the people who make the work happen.
SFIC Institute Pte Ltd is the training and consultancy arm of the Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC). Since our founding in 2010, we have been quietly getting on with something we believe matters: helping the people who work in Singapore’s furniture and design industries grow into the best version of their professional selves.
What started as a dedicated training body has grown into something a good deal broader. Today, SFIC Institute spans training, carpentry education, and strategic consulting, touching every stage of a professional’s career journey. The industry has changed enormously over the years, and we have done our best to change with it.
Since 2010, SFIC Institute has earned the trust of Singapore’s leading workforce agencies, delivered millions in funded training, and helped hundreds of professionals find their footing in the furniture and design industries. Here is a little of what we are proud of.
2010
The First Furniture Industry Campus
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2011
Industry-Backed and Government-Endorsed
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2012
Appointed Programme Manager and Awarded Grant
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2013
Carpentry Takes the Centre Stage
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2016
Spearhead of the Matured Workers Programme
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2020
Digital Operations Talent Programme
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2020
Designers Career Conversion Programme
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2021
Interior Fit-Out Specialist Programme
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2023
Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) Partnership
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2024
The Artisan Academy Established
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2025
Momentum Strategies Established
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The Institute set out to change that by building something solid, a pipeline of skilled, properly certified professionals who could carry the industry forward. From the very beginning, the ambition was to be more than a training provider. The goal was to be a long-term partner to the industry, committed to the unglamorous but genuinely important work of bridging education and practice.
It was a meaningful moment. Being recognised by a national workforce development body so early in the Institute's life was a signal that what SFIC Institute was building had genuine credibility. It also opened the door to the deeper, more structured government partnerships that would follow in the years ahead.
and Awarded Grant
WDA Letter of Offer: Appointed as Programme Manager for Industrial Design (Furniture) Industry training
July
SPRING Singapore grant awarded — SS$3,463,247 for Singapore Furniture Industries Capability Development Scheme
October
WDA Letter of Offer: Appointed as Programme Manager for Creative Industries (Industrial Design) Master Class
2012 was the year we landed three significant endorsements landed within the space of ten months.
In January, the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) appointed SFIC Institute as a Programme Manager for the Industrial Design (Furniture) Industry, tasking the Institute with delivering competency-based training and assessments leading to the WSQ Advanced Certificate in Industrial Design and Design (Furniture).
In July, SPRING Singapore awarded a grant of S$3,463,247 under the Singapore Furniture Industries Capability Development Scheme, recognising SFIC Institute's role in building sector-wide capability across the furniture industry's workforce.
Then in October, WDA came back with a second appointment: Programme Manager for a Creative Industries (Industrial Design) Master Class, extending the Institute's reach to train educators, working professionals, and final-year design students at Institutes of Higher Learning.
e2i CCAP (Carpentry Place & Train Programme) — $3,452,760 grant for 180 trainees (funding: Dec 2013 – Mar 2016)
Carpentry Takes Centre Stage
e2i Carpentry Place and Train Programme: $3.45 million grant for 180 trainees
In November 2013, SFIC Institute was awarded an e2i Training Grant of $3,452,760 to run the Carpentry Place and Train Programme. It was one of the most hands-on, people-centred initiatives the Institute had taken on to date.
The programme aimed to not simply training people, but to place them as well. All 180 participants were taken on as full employees at participating companies, then put through a structured curriculum covering classroom theory, vocational skills, and on-the-job training. By the end of it, they walked away with WSQ certifications, qualifications from Polytechnic West Australia, and a genuine set of trade skills covering everything from technical drawing to furniture assembly and machine operation.
e2i Matured Workers Programme — $99,600 grant for 8 matured workers (funding: Jan 2016 – Dec 2017) e2i Place and Train Programme for Matured Workers: supporting 8 industry professionals back into work
In January 2016, SFIC Institute was awarded a further e2i Training Grant of $99,600 to run a Place and Train programme specifically designed for mature workers. These were people returning to the workforce, or making a considered move into the furniture and related trades for the first time.
The programme gave eight individuals structured traineeship opportunities at participating companies, backed by WSQ-certified training, on-the-job mentorship, and proper employment terms. Everyone started on a minimum monthly salary of $1,500, with increments tied to performance and time in role.
Artisan Academy was established as a dedicated carpentry education brand, drawing on more than a decade of hands-on trade training experience. It was designed to make carpentry skills genuinely accessible to a new generation of learners, offering structured programmes that take craft seriously without losing sight of modern industry needs.
Momentum Strategies came to life as a consulting brand, helping businesses think clearly about workforce challenges, capability development, and organisational growth. It brings the same practical, sector-informed perspective that SFIC Institute has always applied to training, now pointed at the strategic questions businesses are actually wrestling with.
Building on our track record, we were appointed as a Key Partner in the Jobs-Skills Integrator for the Retail Sector (JSIT-R) by SNEF. This partnership reflects our strategic importance in bridging the gap between employer needs and workforce capabilities in the vibrant retail sector.
Guided by Values.
Driven by Impact.
Good training is not complicated. It meets people where they are, gives them something real, and trusts them to do something with it. That is what SFIC Institute is, since 2010.
To develop skilled, work-ready professionals who can contribute meaningfully to Singapore’s furniture and design industries, and to the broader economy they are part of.
To be the most trusted training and development partner for Singapore’s furniture and design sector, recognised not just for the qualifications we deliver, but for the careers we help build.
We believe in the dignity of skilled work, the importance of doing things properly, and the responsibility that comes with being trusted to develop people’s careers.
Real Skills, Real Results.
We combine academic knowledge with hands-on, applied learning — ensuring every graduate leaves not just with a certificate, but with the confidence and capability to make an immediate impact at work.
Our trainers are industry veterans who bring real-world insight into every session. Small class sizes, practical exercises, and an outcomes-focused approach mean you get the most out of every hour you invest with us.